Wednesday, 3 May 2017

·Firstly, this is a fantastic
looking camera that draws attention to you as the photographer, and you simply
using this camera says… I know what I’m
doing, I’m an artisan with advanced knowledge of photography.

·Looking down psychology. People
don’t like being scrutinized through the lens of a camera. With SLR cameras,
your face is on the same plain of focus as the lens and the subject often feels
uncomfortable and uneasy about the apparent level of scrutiny implied through
the use of SLR’s. With a TLR you focus with your face and head pointing and
looking down and not at the subject. This has a potential effect in that
they’re not so aware of being photographed and may feel more at ease and
potentially a better result may evolve?

·Prime lenses – they don’t use
zoom lenses, all of the lenses that come with these cameras are fixed focal
length and therefore prime lenses with better optics.

·6cm x 6cm negative. This is a
big negative that produces a very high quality image if used with the right
films, processed correctly and printed on the right type of papers.

·Focus on need to get the shot
(12 frames). Again, this is another psychological factor, the whole process or
making images using a camera that only has 12 frames per roll focuses the
photographer’s attention on the job at hand. The process of making the pictures
becomes slower and more measured and potentially better for it.

·Requires use of hand-held meter
– again another set of skills and it looks more professional and people
potentially take you more seriously – you look like a photographer and you
should be telling them you’re an artist… Digital
photography is for snappers and amateurs.

·Requires more advance knowledge
of photography – filters out the cowboys and the wanna-be’s.

·The square format also makes
you think about the space in the image and creates further awareness of
backgrounds in images.

·Enables and encourages darkroom
skills and a greater under-standing of the relationship between exposure, light
and the print.

·Enables you to shoot and create
images in the style of the greats such as Avedon, Bailey and Penn through the use
of techniques such as the inclusion of the border, again making you consider
the frame. (Shooting full frame).

·Working with such cameras
demands and identifies more advance skill-set and increases potential to attain
higher grades.

Disadvantage

·12 shots on a roll – although can
be seen as a positive aspect (See above)

·Lens parallax error – what you
see through the viewing lens doesn’t correspond with the ‘Taking lens’.

·No internal metering system

·Bellows extension factor – with
different lenses at different focal lengths and the closeness of the subject,
the camera has a bellows system to facilitate focusing which affects the
exposure. This needs to be factored into the exposure calculations.

·You have to know about film in
order to expose properly.

·Need to have access to 6x6
format enlargers.

·Need to additional skill-set of
processing and printing skills/knowledge to get full advantage.